Group items tagged

Title: Bring up BABIES: Director Thomas Balmes and producer Alain Chabat talk Author: Nick Dawsom Date published: March 16, 2010 (movie BABIES released May 7, 2010) Why Relevant and Summary: This beautiful film is relevant to the development of children globally in that it artistically represents the similarity and differences in the first year of life. Four children are followed from birth to their first birthday: Ponijao in Opuwo, Nambia, Mari in Tokyo, Japan, Bagar in Bayanchandmani, Mongolia, and Hattie in San Francisco, California. Some is a challenge to watch, as for us some of the parenting habits are unfamiliar to our culture, while many moments are funny and beautiful. I encourage you to watch the movie, and have linked specifically to this article so that you can also read about the director and producers' thoughts on the film. Credibility of source: Very credible.

Title: Height Hopes A new study identifies potential height genes Author: No authors are listed Date Published: also unlisted, but it was written sometime after 2007 because that was the date of one the references used in the article. Why Relevant: The article talks about how height is based on your genes as well as you your environment. It mentions twin studies as well as talking about how scientists are trying to determine which genes are responsible for determining height. How This Influenced My Thinking: The article had some great information about twin studies and how they have been used to look at how much your height is a genetic factor. Credibility of Source: Decent, The website is put out through a museum that is associated with the University of Stanford. But since there isn't a date, or author it lowers the credibility of the source.

Title:Environmental Causes of Human Congenital Malformations: The Pediatrician's Role in Dealing With These Complex Clinical Problems Caused by a Multiplicity of Environmental and Genetic Factors Author:Robert L. Brent Date Published:April 1, 2004 Why Relevant and Summary: Contains information on teratogens from various kinds to what malformations they can cause in the body. This article starts off by describing the criteria to be classified as a teratogen. There are three categories of congenital malformations: unknown, genetic, and environmental. The severity of effects of teratogen are determined by time of exposure and amount of exposure or threshold dose. How This Influenced My Thinking: There are specific criteria in order to be classified as caused by teratogen. Credibility of Source: The source is highly credible. It comes from the Journal of American Academy of Pediatrics.

Title: Genes vs. Environment Author: University of Edinburgh Date Published: May 16, 2012 Why Relevant and Summary: This article provides information on over 800 sets of experiments that were done to prove how genes played a more important role in development than the environment. How This Influenced My Thinking: This made me want to conduct my own research or do my own study on twins who were separated at birth to see how identical their characteristics were after five or ten years of being apart. That would help me see for myself if genetics really do have a greater inpact than environment does on development. Credibility of Source: This source is credible because the information was derived from universities, journals, and other research organizations and they have references to all the information they used.

Title: The Evolution of Human Genetic and Phenotypic Variation in Africa Author: Michael C. Campbell Sarah A. Tshoff Date Published: September 27, 2010 Why Relevant and Summary: Talk about genetic diversity within Africa, including information on Lactase persistence in adults. How This Influenced My Thinking: Interested article that helps gives concrete examples of genetic variances. Credibility of Source: Very Credible